think comfort poffible; yet whenever he fent his word, it heal'd me, and my foul was commanded to be at peace, a glorious calm alway enfued. Whereas on the other hand, when I or others endeavoured to fpeak peace to myself, mine enemies boldly repelled all, and flew on me, as the devil did on the exorcifts, Acts xix. 16.

7. The Lord now fweetly relieved me as to my doubts about the fcriptures. 1. Whereas mine enemies had oft pushed me with this, that there were many pretenders to revelation, and hereon to difficult me, asked how I would or could diftinguish the word of God from thefe pretenders. The Lord himself now gave a quieting reply: Jer. xxiii. 28, 29. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully: What is the chaff to the wheat, faith the Lord? Is not my word like as a fire, faith the Lord? And like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 2. He was pleafed particularly to fpeak thefe things, whereat I had stumbled, to my foul, and oft to evidence his authority in and by these paffages which I took exception at. And this condefcenfion was of manifold use; it satisfied as to those paffages, it reprov'd and humbled me for my unbelief and ignorance in quarrelling at them; it rendered me jealous of the like temptations with respect to other paffages. It put me to plead clearing as to what was dark from the Lord, it gave me hope as to the iffue. These thing under⚫ stood not his difciples at the firft,-They said there'for, What is this that he faith, A little while? We cannot tell what he faith.- -But when he had rif6 en from the dead, his difciples remembred that he had faid this unto them; And they believed the fcripture, and the word which Jefus hath faid,' John Chapter xii. 16. compared with Chapter xvi. 18. and with the Chapter ii. 22. Then was I made to fay with the difciples, Chapter xvi. 29. Lo, now speakest thou

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plainly, and Speakeft no Proverb. 3. Where I was not presently clear'd, the Lord gave me fubfiftence, as it were fomething to live on till light came, he fatisfied me from the word, of the reasons of his expreffing himself in the fcriptures in parables to the multitude; and he told me, That what he did and faid, I knew not now, but encouraged me to hope, that I fhould know hereafter, John xiii. 7.' when my need requir'd it 4. He was as good as his word; for when I was alone with him, he opened what before was spoken in parables, and while he opened the fcripture, and difcovered my ignorance, he often made my Heart burn within me. Luke xxiv. 32. Again, 5. He satisfied me as to many things, that I was not yet able to bear them; Mark iv. 33. John xvi. 12, 13. as to others, That it was not for me to know them at prefent, that the proper seafon of light as to them, would come when he would (hew me plainly of them, and then should I know them, 6. He let me fee his wisdom and goodness in training me up to depen dence, for opening of my eyes to fee the wonders of his law, Pfalm exix. 18. Job xxxiv. 32. and leading me to importune him that what I knew not he might teach, John. xvi. 12, 13. and discovering hereby that I knew but in part, and ftood in need of the /pirit to guide unto all truth, to bring all to remembrance; 1 Cor. xiii. 121 and that it was my duty to meditate on God's law day and night, Pfalm i. 2. and fearch the fcriptures, and that with much humility, fmce the fecret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he fhews them his covenant, and he guides the meek in judgment, and clearly teaches them his way.' Pfalmi xxv. 9, 10, 12, 14.

8. When after this I now read the fcriptures, and found not that powerful light shining with that warming, quickening and sparkling glory; 1 Cor. ii, 15. yet I found nine eyes opened, and an habitual light planted in my foul, John x. 4, 5. whereby I was e

nabled

nabled almost every where to difcern the glory of the Lord in fome meafure, Col. i. 13. and thereby my confcience was fecretly overaw'd, 1 John ii. 27. and brought even then to regard them as his word; Cal. i. 13. being tranflated out of darkness into light, and illuminated in fome measure in the knowlege of God, his nature, purposes, and the tendency of his whole dealings with men; there was hereby a light reflected on the whole fcripture, and I was ordinarly enabled to difcern the congruity of all that I read there to thofe discoveries of God, and how worthy of him, and like himself every thing was. And by this abiding light, I was capable of difcerning in the words, difcoveries of the actings of fin in grace, à penetration and exactnefs beyond the reach of any, fave the omnifcient and only wife Cod.

And being thus once in this way quieted as to the truth, in the fame and other ways of an alike nature, I was daily confirm'd.

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Containing a fhort account of the issue of fome other temptations wherewith I had been exercifed, and the relief I got with respect to them, from the Lord.

1.

Have above fhewed, That Satan, who had oft tempted me to pride, when he found it for his intereft, turned himself another way, and made. it his work to drive to a baftard fort of humility. When I was caught in the thicket of his temptations about the truth of the fcriptures, and other things of an alike nature, and was ufing means to get my mind relieved; he oft, with much importunity, urged me with this thought, To what purpofe do ye feek for fatisfaction, or how can ye be fo vain, as to expect it about these things, wherein men of incomparably greater reach, abilities, diligence and opportunities/ have.

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have been obliged to remain unfatisfied, and upon that account, have given up with them? This temptation was often urged with that hellifh violence, that I had no fpirit left in me by it; I was ready to let my hands hang down, my knees turned feeble, and my mouth was oft at fpeaking it out, that there was no hope, and I went about to make myself despair of any good fruit of any labour taken, or that could by me be exercifed, and laid out under the fun.

2. When the Lord made the foregoing difcovery of himself to me, the force of this temptation was quite broke, by feeing the truths of God in his own light. But I got not a particular difcovery of the weakness of this temptation then, till fome time after reading in my ordinary, the three first chapter's of the first to the Corinthians, the Lord was pleas'd to open mine eyes, and make me understand the weakness of this temptation. The light that then fhin'd upon my foul from, and by this portion of fcripture, and the fatisfaction of foul it gave, as to this temptation, no words can exprefs: Nor can I at this distance of time narrate all that then the Lord made convincingly clear to me from his word. Yet the fubftance I do remember, and fall reprefent in the following remarks.

3. First, God here reprefented to me, That his great defign in the method of falvation, made choice of by infinite wifdom, was to ftain the pride of all glory; that no flesh might glory in his fight. But that he that glories, fhould glory only in the Lord.

4. Secondly, The Lord difcovered, That a vain ambition to be wife above what God allowed, was the fpring and principal part of our apoftacy from God; and that ever fince Satan firft dropt that poi"fon into bur natures, it has wrought ftrongly: Vain Iman would be wife. The Jews afk a fign, and the Greeks feek after wisdom.

5. Thirdly, That in order to the attainment of the

fore

foregoing defign, and indeed for the recovery of man, it was plainly neceffary, that man's ambition in this matter fhould be effectually chock'd. This being a principal branch of our corruption if it were not cured, we were not compleatly recovered. This lying in a plain oppofition to the defign of God, if it were not levelled, this defign could not be reached. Hereon it became neceffary, That God fhould destroy the wisdom of the wife, and bring to nothing the underStanding of the prudent.

6. Fourthly, God to vindicate his own wifdom, which was reproached by this vain ambition of man, to fix an eternal blot on this wifdom of man, fet up in oppofition to it, and effectually difcover its vanity in the depth of his wifdom, and holy feverity in pu-nishing this ambition, and other wickedneffes of vain. man, Juffered for many ages all nations to walk in their own ways, and try them, whether they were better than God's ways, whether they could fupply the defects which they fondly imagined God at firft had made them with, or relieve themfelves from the mifery their apoftacy had brought them under.

He faid, I will hide my face from them, I will fee what their end fhall be: For they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.' And the event was every way anfwerable to the expectation, and defign of divine wisdom and juftice, and the de fert of the wickedness and folly of men, who made the attempt; for after near four thousand years fruitlefs endeavours spent, through the wife forbearance of God, The world by wifdem knew not God. They. in the wisdom of God, quite miss'd the mark, their foolish minds were darkned, feeking to be wife, they be came fools; and inftead of getting, their eyes opened to see and know more than God allowed them, they could fee nothing but their own nakedness; and so imperfect were their difcoveries, that their wisdom fuggefted to them, that fig-leaves would cure that.

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7. Fifth